Loadout

Loadout Overview

Loadout is a free to play third-person shooter, with a graphics style similar to Borderlands and gameplay similar to Team Fortress 2. Instead of classes, the game features a robust weaponcrafting system that grants thousands of possible weapon combinations. Choose one of three default characters, and begin collecting parts and leveling weapons to build your own custom class to give you the style you’ve always wanted. At launch, the game offered three characters and five game modes.

Characters: Axl, T-Bone, Helga

Game modes: Control Point Blitz, Death Snatch, Extraction, Jack Hammer, and Annihilation.

Loadout Screenshots

Loadout Featured Video

Loadout – First Look

Full Review

Loadout Full Review

I had no idea what was waiting for me when I was handed Loadout, no clue what was waiting for me beyond the title. What I found was a humorous, interesting title. Many people on Steam have played Team Fortress 2. Not everyone liked it, and the “Hat” collecting could be seen as stupid, or absurd. Loadout’s absurd in quite another way. It’s like the drunken older brother of Team Fortress 2, in that it’s violent, filled with blood and exploding bodies, nudity, piles and piles of guns, and interesting game types. Weaponcrafting was the biggest thing to me. Being able to avoid simply using an AK-47, or whatever trite gun Call of Duty shooters offer was a treat. The only major problem I had was the wait to get into a match on the first day or so I attempted to play this interesting title. The first night or two, I could not even get into a match. Over an hour’s waiting left me irritable and horrifyingly bored. On the third day, however, it became easier, and I had a blast. I do not know if it was an error on their part, or simply not enough people logging in, but I got a chance to view this wonderfully fun, free-to-play title.

In Loadout, you play as one of three equally awful-looking characters in a series of manic, fast-paced team-based events, blowing up body parts, spilling blood, and causing chaos and violence everywhere you go. This cannot be more adequately explained by the way matches begin. All matches start with a huddle of players from both teams. They’re all standing right in around each other; a person fast on the draw with a grenade or wide spraying gun can make quite the killing right before the match, and give their teammates an advantage. Yes, even the ones they blow into chunks.

It’s Kind of Like Hooters:

Only there’s no real class to be had – just tackiness. But it’s still entertaining in its own right. The charm of Loadout is in the customization of weapons. You do absolutely crazy things for any occasion. As you level up (exp is gained in matches), you can get more slots for customized guns, which you name, and apply the desired types of parts. New parts cost “blutes” which are also won in matches, but you can purchase an xp/blute boost from the real-money store. That is the closest the store comes to giving a player an edge. The devs assure us that it will never be pay-to-win, but they have to make money somehow. That comes in the form of boosts, and interesting costume changes. Not like League of Legends, which sells skins, but more like Rock Band. The avatars from the characters are very reminiscent of Rock Band and Guitar Hero, and you can buy different pants, shirts, hats, et cetera. You can even purchase nudity, if such is your desire. You can make custom loadouts, with different guns for different occasions, much like in Call of Duty.

It may take a bit longer to farm parts and levels without that, but it is far from necessary. Once you have you saved a gun to your liking, you can try it in the test chambers, before you save it and spend your money. This is incredibly helpful, because you might decide it is not quite the way you want it. Now, I’m no ace at shooters. I’m mediocre at best. But, the wackiness of the game is really appealing. The idea of having bouncing chain-lightning bullets fills a hole in my soul that I, until this point, did not know even existed. I saw lots of various guns, even this early into the game. Wide spread chain guns, tesla rifles, rockets that explode into lightning or fire, and healing lasers. There’s even options for support-style players, such as being able to use guns that buff your friends and debuff enemies. There’s easily something craftable for everyone on the spectrum.

Bulletstorm Meets World:

In most other shooters, you have a variety of cover to duck behind, to peer around walls and shoot at your opponents. That does not quite happen in Loadout! Instead, you have a roll, which you can chain into a super high jump to get on top of rocky outcroppings. The landscapes aren’t all “Brown City,” “Gray City,” or “Green City” like in Call of Duty or Battlefield. I have seen my share of post-apocalyptic, beat up cityscapes, and while they are sort of cartoony, the backdrops are very nice. They fit the setting, and are certainly different from your average grimdark shooter. There’s lots of action gameplay elements: running and jumping up hills, leaping gallantly across pits (where you can and will die if you fall), and then attempting to make a super sick rolling jump, only to helplessly tumble to your death (which I did several times.) There are ranked matches, and there are casuals; you can also test your mettle against bots, if that is more to your speed. I have yet to try out ranked, as I’m still kind of a low level, but I expect to be back for more!

There are several match types in Loadout, which are random when you select a casual matchmaking game. I have experienced all of the match types so far, and I have to say, they are interesting, each and every one of them. In the match making hall, like most other shooters, the group picks the map that they play on, and each map has its advantages and disadvantages. There are four match types, which I will give a brief explanation on:

Blitz: The purpose of this map is to capture a control point and hold it for points. Only one is active at a time, and as an end result, there is massive bloody violence to secure and hold it. Working as a team is very important, as you try to hold the choke point, no doubt your enemies will constantly barrage you with grenades and bullets to steal it.

Death Snatch: Stealing “Blutonium Vials” off of dead bodies is key to success in this match type. It is very similar to “Kill Confirmed” in Call of Duty, in that you acquire off the desiccated bodies of your enemies. Now, you can get your side’s vials off their bodies before the enemy can to deny them points. The first to the ascribed total wins!

Extraction: Each side has a “Collector”. That person has to collect the Blutonium on the map, and take it to the grinder, to grind it down for their uses. There’s an indicator that shows when you are the chosen one. If you aren’t the collector, defend yours, or blow the enemies up as fast as possible. You need to keep your collector alive.

Jackhammer: This was one of my favorite modes. In Jackhammer, your goal is to steal a humongous hammer (more of a sledge) from your opponent’s base, and run it back to your own. Running, jumping and rolling with that massive weapon is pretty hilarious. You can also use it to mash your opponents into a greasy mess on the landscape. First to the correct amount of turn-ins wins this one.

Grooker Status: Dookered: 4/5 Great.

Graphics: 4/5

I rate these graphics high not so much for the graphics themselves, but the vast different from the other shooters on the market. The cartoony style really stands out in a sea of “realism.” The name of the game seems to be “outrageous,” and from the buckets of blood, the wackiness, and general carnage, I think these graphics deliver on any number of levels.

Controls: 3/5

The controls aren’t quite what I hoped, but you really cannot reinvent the wheel, so to speak. It’s mostly controller compatible, with a few keyboard exceptions. The controls are pretty solid. A little getting used to, with the placement of the roll, but a few matches and you’ll be high jumping with the best of them.

Features/Gameplay: 5/5

While there are only a few gameplay modes, this game stands out with its customization. Granted, while the character customization is very light unless you spend real money, it’s all in the guns. I feel like I’m playing a blend of Bulletstorm, Borderlands, and Team Fortress, in one delightful, zany package. There are crazy options, and I can see some pretty game-breaking potential here. But, in a world where everything is powerful, nothing is.

Music/Sound: 3/5

The music can get a bit monotonous after a while, but that’s all shooters as far as I’m concerned. The sound effects are pretty entertaining, though. Explosions, cursing, the sounds of blood squelching out of bodies, and watching a large white man do the “Carlton”, complete with the background music of “It’s not unusual” really made my gameplay worthwhile. I personally turn the game music down, and crank up “Demons and Wizards” or “Blind Guardian.” Sometimes “Sabaton.” Something suitable to get my blood pumping.

Loadout is a third person shooter that differs from other third person shooters I have tried. It is gory, fast, action packed, and has a large range of customization. Loadout can be found on Steam and takes a player’s Steam ID to add friends to the in-game friends list. My first impressions were that it was going to be a typical shooter. Nothing unique or worth mentioning about it, just some brief hype, however it turned out to be much better than that. At the home screen, a player can also see when there is happy hour and any changes that they make to their character will also be shown on the home screen, which includes weapons and outfits like this angry man you see here…

Graphics & Gameplay
The graphics work very well with the gameplay. The gameplay often involves trying to capture points and/or demolishing opposing players. This usually requires some large amounts of firepower. The graphic style becomes very brutal at certain times because during a fight, players will often get certain limbs blown off. The pseudo-realistic graphics make it humorous and gross at the same time. Sometimes, players will even run around with no heads. The gameplay is almost similar to other third person shooters; the main thing that makes it different is the customization available in weapons which allows players to see many different combinations. As players die they will drop their weapon allowing other players on either team to pick up the dropped weapon. This adds a bit to gameplay because of the large variety of weapons.

Missing flesh down to the bone while being zapped

Game Modes
There are currently two types of game modes available. The first mode is a team death match mode where players will try and demolish each other. As players die, they will drop certain items that other players can pick up. If a player on the same team picks up this item, it will deny a kill, but if a player on the opposite team picks up the item, they will get a kill instead. The other mode is a dominion-type mode where the teams need to capture, defend, and attack points. These points will decide the final verdict of a winner. As the points are being captured, players will fight one another to try and stop the capture from the opposing team. I preferred the death matches over the base captures, mainly because I prefer to mindlessly kill during while playing these types of games.

Its just a flesh wound, I can still capture the point!

Weaponcrafting
Weaponcrafting is Loadout’s strongest point. Players can use parts to craft and customize guns earned from playing matches. This is their weapon customization which appeals to a lot of players. It offers a large variety of customization and every aspect can be earned in-game. Players can choose from lasers to machine guns and they can also add effects to them such as fire or mine detonation. All the stats are displayed on the screen, which also display the stats that will change when switching certain properties on a gun. My person favorite thing to do was using a cluster rocket launcher with a fire effect on it. With this system in place, players were basically encouraged to make very bizarre weapons. Since players dropped their weapons as they died, it provided a chance for other players to pick up those weapons and see the different combinations that are possible.

Weaponcrafting Galore!

Character Customization
The customization of a default character is non-existent. Players can choose to customize their characters in the outfitter. The outfitter provides a large selection of outfits, but most of them need to be bought. There are a few things that can be changed without a cost, but those small changes. Although it costs quite a bit, most players could probably buy all they want without having to worry much as long as they stay active. The customization is pretty vast if that’s the case. I think it’s important to have it accessible for most players and with this system, it’s mostly fair.

A small example of the provided customization

Yer Buds & Matchmaking
Players currently have no way of joining matchmaking with their friends, but they can join their friend’s room once they enter a queue, there’s just no way to join matchmaking together. Once players get into a queue, they are given maps to select from which are also the different game modes. The Yer Buds list consists of the same people as a player’s steam’s friends list.

The friends list and matchmaking selection screen

Currency
Spacebux are obtainable after every round through roulette and it can also be bought with real money. This may mislead people into thinking it gives an extreme advantage to some players, but it does not. The main reason comes from another form of currency which is for weapon upgrades. Upgrade points are another form of points a player must collect to upgrade their weapons to the next tier. Certain pieces need different amounts of upgrade points. This limits the gun advantage so most of the purchases for spacebux would probably go towards the customization of a character. Who wouldn’t want to make their character look snazzy?

Money everywhere!

Overview

Graphics – 4/5 – The graphics are smooth and match the settings of the world really well.

Gameplay – 3.5/5 – The gameplay is semi-generic but the guns make it much more interesting.

Customization – 4/5 – Customization is the strongest point of Loadout Given outfits mainly need to be obtained with spacebux, it’s still completely possible to fully customize your own character.

Community – 3/5 – Players aren’t as hateful as other games seeing as Loadout is a much less serious game than other shooters, but since action is always going, conversations don’t really get started.

Features – 3/5 – There aren’t many features other than the customizations and the fact players can jump high. Nothing really stands out in terms of special features.

Overall – 3.5/5 – Overall, the game is great. I really enjoyed it and I personally think it’s worth a try if a person is willing.

Full Review

By Jaime Skelton

Ever played an MMOFPS and loved a gun, but wished it had more stopping power? Perhaps a bit more stability, maybe sets your opponents on fire? In Loadout, by Edge of Reality, the world’s your oyster when it comes to guns, guns, and even more guns. Boasting a whopping 1.5 million weapon combinations, the game promises intense, action packed gameplay, filled to the brim with crude humor, comical loss of limbs, and did we mention guns? In a market that has been saturated with shooters as of late, how does Loadout hold up against the competition?

Locked and Loaded

There is very little in the way of character creation when you start Loadout; in fact, you can simply jump into the action right away when you log in. However, customization will be found substantially in weapon-crafting You start with three weapons: an assault rifle, a grenade launcher, and a tesla shotgun. The former two weapons are stock; they cannot be dismantled for spare parts. The tesla shotgun is fair game, however.

In the beginning, you can only make a handful of simple guns. The game starts you with a few parts, but to make some of the truly fascinating weapons, you’ll require additional parts that you earn while playing. The starting weapons, however, are not bad by any stretch of the imagination; they are simply plain compared to what can be made through the weapon-crafting system.

Build a Better Gun

Since the main focus of the game is Weaponcrafting mode, you will spend a great deal of time piecing together weapons. While you may not have all the parts you need to make something truly amazing, Loadout provides the flexibility to create whatever you want right from the start, and test out your sinister creations on a practice range. In addition to the standard slugs, weapons can also fire Tesla energy that arcs between opponents, use pyro rounds to set them on fire, or heal and boost your allies.

When it comes time to put a weapon together, there are a few options if you find you don’t have the parts required. By using trial tickets (in bronze, silver, gold, and platinum varieties), you can borrow the weapon you’ve made for a period of three hours to seven days. If you have the coins, you can outright buy the weapon parts you need to craft the item, though this option seems to be rather expensive. Finally, you can save the weapon as a blueprint, allowing you to recall it when you do have the parts to finish its build.

+3 to Manliness

In addition to creating weapons, you can also edit the appearance of your. In your loudout section, you can change what weapons each loadout has, along with the type of equipment you use – you start with a grenade, and unlock more equipment like shields as you level up – and finally have the option to customize your avatar.

You will initially have access to two different looking characters. One looks suspiciously like Rambo, and the other like Mr. T. As you play, you can unlock various head, upper body, and lower body items for use, giving the wielder of your killing machines a distinct look. You can also set up to four different taunts to use from popular culture, including the Carlton, the Cabbage Patch, and Gangnam Style, all in the name of adding insult to injury.

Getting Into the Game

Loadout currently offers four different modes of gameplay. For each mode, having proper loadouts is the key to success. Blitz has you and your teammates capturing control points to score. After one team achieves a specific number of captures, that team wins. Death Snatch is like other Deathmatch style modes, but instead of just killing your adversary, you must also collect the vials they drop to score. This also means you can collect your allies’ vials in order to prevent the enemy from taking the lead.

Jackhammer is similar to Capture the Flag, but like all the other Loadout modes, it, too, has a twist. While the goal is to get the hammer from the enemy base to yours, the hammer is also an incredibly powerful weapon, and any enemy you defeat with it will increase the value of the hammer when it is turned in to your base. Extraction is a fairly unique mode where one player on each side is labeled the Collector, and must collect blutonium scattered across the map. The person that is the collector changes throughout play, so the battlefield is ever shifting.

Speaking of maps, you’ll find that maps in Loadout are relatively simple and straightforward. Clever players may find ways to get atop buildings or structures, using the environment to their advantage. Maps also feature scattered power-ups to help boost your game (or your enemy’s, if you’re unlucky).

Final Verdict: Great

While Loadout seems to poke fun of the FPS genre slightly, it is a very solid title at its core. Guns are balanced, and provide a good background for teamplay with healing and boosts taken into account. It is a bit difficult to get everything you want for your wonder gun, but with time and games well played, they will come along with additional equipment. Combat has been kept fast and furious, but functional, and enjoyable. While some people may not appreciate the crude humor, Loadout offers a great deal of fun and entertainment for anyone looking for a new MMOFPS to enjoy.

Loadout Articles

Loadout: Update 4.0 Now Available; PS4 Version Coming Soon - Posted on June 6, 2014Edge of Reality today announced that Loadout, the fast-paced free-to-play shooter with billions of weapon combinations, will bring every last one of those weapons to the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system in a forthcoming release on the PlayStation®Store.